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Should Reyes play again this season?

Jose Reyes is taking batting practice and continues to hope he’ll play again this season. I considered changing my mind with the thought that learning where Reyes really is with his hamstring is important regarding their off-season planning.

But, is it really?

REYES: Mets lost without him.

If he’s not completely healthy now, he’s not going to be ready by Friday, or next week. He needs the surgery and as much time as possible to recover. That’s why this has all been wasted time for both the Mets and Reyes, and why there is the potential for another lost season.

I was thinking whether the Mets should trade Reyes, but it is a moot point. Only a dumb general manager would trade for a player whose game is about running and not knowing whether he’ll be able to run or not.

The rap on Reyes is he hasn’t lived up to his potential, that he loses focus and concentration. That he gives away too many at-bats, and for as gifted as he is in the field, he botches the easiest of plays. All that is true.

There is also concern he burns the candle at both ends regarding his penchant for the night life.

However, if Reyes has lived up to his potential, it’s still a pretty good player. If this is as good as it gets for Reyes, then what team wouldn’t want him? Right, he’s not as good as Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki and Jimmy Rollins, and will never live up to the Derek Jeter comparisons – looking back, they were stupid to begin with – but, that’s still a good player.

Most any team would want Reyes – but that is a healthy Reyes.

Everything Reyes does is based on his legs, and now he has a flat tire. Because he can’t run he’s useless. And, we won’t know if he can run until next season.

Manager Jerry Manuel said of all the injured Mets, the one missed most is Reyes. If Reyes comes back healthy next season and doesn’t get any better, general manager Omar Minaya will have to decide if that’s something the team could live with or is he of greater value in a trade where he could fill two or three of the team’s many holes?

That decision will define the Mets for several seasons, but it can’t be made until next year.

However, if the Mets find a team dumb enough to unload three or four players now while not knowing if Reyes can run or not, Minaya needs to jump at that offer. If I’m the Mets, I can live without knowing if Reyes has reached his potential. But, I can’t live with not knowing if he’ll be able to ever air it out again.

Not only do the Mets have to face to prospect of Reyes not living up to his potential, but of not being a viable player of any kind.

5 thoughts on “Should Reyes play again this season?”

According to the article I read, He doesnt want to go under the knife. On friday he will test it and if theres no pain, he will get into some games. If there is no impovement, he gets the operation. Its a 2 month recovery period. That leaves plenty of time until Spring training. Its better for him to try it now so he knows if he needs the operation or not.

I agree Sadecki…. As for trading him, why, none of the dump reyes guys would even mention trading theire “face” of the fracnchise who has deeriorated offensively and defensively, and can’t even match the pop of Daniel Murphy who doesn’t have enough pop so say the naysyers. And Reyes is not less of a player than Rollins. Phillie fans rapped Rollions for years for being an underachiever. He had one super year and has been just ok again since. But he got a ring and now three straight division flags so its ok. Mets will probably trade him now. After all that’s what they do. Beat a player, lower his value and trade. Why trade high ewhen you can trade low?